The Desperate Hours

Based on a novel and play by the screenwriter Joseph Hayes, The Desperate Hours is one of the final plays that William Wyler adapted to the screen, and it’s one that feels the least stage bound. Commanding his cast of stars and stock players with his typical aplomb, framing the events in his intricately designed, deep-focus manner, and utilizing another of those two-story sets he obviously loved so much, Wyler created a taught thriller that was somewhat based on real events.

Three convict...